What Is Modern Design? – Everything You Need to Know About Modern Design – House Beautiful

Modern design is often used interchangeably with contemporary design, so if you often get them confused, you’re not alone. But in reality, these are two different design styles and periods. To set the record straight, we’re laying out all of the defining elements of modern design—and how exactly it’s different from contemporary style so that the two aren’t forever doomed to be conflated.

What is modern design?

Modern style comes from a designated time period that will includes the early to the particular mid-20th century. The style originated at the turn of the century with a move toward industrialization and gained popularity throughout the first half of the hundred years. Both midcentury modern (popular in the particular ’40s through ’60s) and post-modern design (from ’70s onward) evolved from modern design. “Modernism was the future in the early midcentury. It harnessed the capability of machinery to offer affordable housing and furniture solutions to the particular masses. This informed architecture, interiors, furnishings, and art, ” says Los Angeles-based interior designer Natalie Myers .

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What are usually the defining elements of modern style?

• Clean lines : The design designs preceding contemporary design were Gothic, Renaissance, and Victorian styles . They incorporated heavy textures, ornamentation, plus plenty associated with dark and dramatic elements. Modern design rejected these aspects within favor of clean, directly lines, uncluttered spaces, plus an overall lack of fussiness.
• Neutral colors : Whites, beiges, and even some shades of black make up the main color palette for modern style (with a few exceptions). While it can incorporate colors as accents, those colors mostly lean toward earth tones. Since modern design puts a large emphasis on natural materials, keeping things in a more neutral color palette is key. “Clean lines over curves. Natural colors and natural materials over bold hues, synthetic materials, plus patterns, ” says Myers.
• Natural materials : The contemporary design era ushered in new components from which to construct furnishings. Steel, molded plywood, and plastic had been all used both instead of or alongside wood. For modern designers, the goal was in order to strike a balance between pure function plus aesthetics. Furniture needed to be practical but still appealing. Materials did differ by region, though. As designers Charles and Ray Eames experimented with plastic in America (and created the iconic midcentury modern Eames lounge chair ) and Marcel Breuer used steel in Germany to create the iconic Wassily chair within 1925, modernists in Brazil, for example , kept to local, natural woods in much of their furniture.
• Low plus long home furniture: Modern furniture boasts the low, long profile. The particular Eames lay chair is a prime example. Made of molded plywood and leather in 1956, it was inspired by the English club seat and the particular worn comfort of a baseball mitt. Furniture was also simplified, like Eero Saarinen’s Tulip chair . As one of the most popular contemporary furniture pieces today, the chair featured only one leg in the center, made of fiberglass-reinforced resin. Saarinen’s aim along with the design was to clean up the particular “ugly confusing world” caused by traditional chair legs. His solution was a streamlined take that came to define the period.
• The o pen concept floor plan: Modern design prefers as few walls as possible. Furniture, instead, differentiates spaces, like the kitchen counter providing a visual distinction through a living or dining room.
• Natural light : Abundant natural light is also necessary to help a space feel more airy and open, so windows are held unadorned.

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What’s the difference between modern and modern design?

Contemporary design refers to the style associated with the present day. It’s impossible in order to pin down as a specific era because contemporary design is constantly evolving. It’s a reflection of the now and will likely look very different 50 years from now than it does today. “What may be considered contemporary right now could be a fleeting trend or may make a lasting impression that will transcend this era, ” states interior developer Katie Hodges .

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